The Malik Report

Updated 5x with Brunner news at 9:18 PM: Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill told Red Wings TV (and Will Posthumus) that he’ll continue to work the phones, but at the present moment, the Wings don’t expect to get into the 1st round, and then will go for the “best player available” with picks 49, 80, 110, 140, 170 and 200 at the NHL Draft—with those picks coming into play from rounds 2-7 tomorrow, starting at 10 AM EDT (on TSN, the NHL Network and NHL.com—and international Wings fans, you will be able to see the stream as it’s not “geoblocked”):

Like it is with any unknown, the jury is still out on Swiss star Damien Brunner, who will likely sign a free agent contract with the Red Wings once he’s eligible to do so after July 1.
Brunner is best described as a speedy slick offensive forward whose a capable passer, has a lightning quick shot, and the ability to finish around the net. But Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill cautions against getting too high on an unproven commodity.

“There are some things that concern me,” said Nill, who is in Pittsburgh for the 50th annual NHL draft this weekend at Consol Energy Center. “But you never know he might be the next superstar.”

While it might be a gamble to take a flyer on a 26-year-old who doesn’t have NHL experience, the risk for the Red Wings is relatively low especially since every team can use depth.

Brunner has played four seasons for EV Zug in Switzerland’s National League A. He led the Doug Shedden coached club last season with 24 goals and 36 assists. Shedden played for the Red Wings from 1985-87.

In four seasons, Brunner has produced 78 goals and 112 assists in 167 games. Last October, in an exhibition game against the New York Rangers, Brunner collected a goal and an assist in an 8-4 win played in Zug, Switzerland.

Brunner has played in two IIHF World Championships, including last month’s tournament in Finland. He led the Swiss team with seven points in seven games.

Draper was selected in the third round, 62nd overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in 1989 at the old Met Center in Bloomington, Minn. It was nerve-wracking, because back then underage players not taken in the first three rounds went back into the draft the following year.

“There was two picks to go, so I’m sitting there, I was just so nervous, kind of wondering if this was the year,’’ Draper said. “I didn’t talk to either of those teams, so you figured it doesn’t look good, and sure enough, ‘The Winnipeg Jets are proud to select’ and you hear your name and it was just amazing.’‘
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“It was just a real special feeling that you know the process is starting,’’ Draper said. “You get that jersey, you get that hat, but you realize it doesn’t guarantee anything.’‘

Osgood was in a similar situation during the 1991 draft in Buffalo. Holland, then the team’s Western Canada scout, had told Osgood that the team was going to take him in the third round, but he was still anxious.

“It was the most nervous I’ve ever been,’’ Osgood said.
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Osgood, the Red Wings’ goaltending development coach, isn’t sure what advice he’ll give to the team’s draftees on Saturday.

“Everything I do now is new to me,’’ Osgood said. “If we draft a goalie I’ll probably talk to him. I know most of the guys anyways that we’re (eying), so I’ll just talk to him and make him feel comfortable.”

According to Khan, the Wings will take their picks to the Tigers-Pirates game at PNC Park on Saturday night…Nice way to welcome them to the organization.

Draper, who is a special assistant to general manager Ken Holland, and Osgood, who is the team goalie develop coach, are in Pittsburgh this weekend to participate in the franchise’s draft process. They joined the front office staff and amateur scouts on the floor of the Consol Energy Center where the Wings will make their picks. Barring a Friday night trade, Detroit has six picks, beginning in the second round on Saturday morning.

The Wings traded away their first-round pick to Tampa Bay in a late-season move that brought defenseman Kyle Quincey back to the organization.

While the players have fond memories of their draft experiences, they can relate to the current group of young men who are more than likely dealing with the same emotional rollercoaster that they did. But that’s where Osgood hopes to provide a few encouraging words to whomever the Wings select this weekend.

“If we draft a goalie I’ll probably talk to him,” Osgood said. “I know most of the guys anyways that we’re drafting, so I’ll just talk to him and make him feel comfortable.”

The nerves maybe the same from year to year for the draftees, but the pageantry sure has changed over the years, Draper said.

“They’ve definitely glitzed it up for sure with the way everything is, and it wasn’t this way back when I got drafted in 1989,” he said. “Just for a young kid who has dreamed that he would one day play in the National Hockey League and you’re sitting there and hear your name called it’s a real special feeling and it’s the opportunity to start the process.”

And we have some free agent news from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Josh Yohe...

Hearing from multiple sources that the Penguins are very serious about attempting to sign Zach Parise in July.
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Pens are looking to trade Paul Martin. Money saved in that deal may give them shot at Parise. Multiple sources believe this is their plan

[Predators General Manager David] Poile said he met Ryan Suter’s agent, Neil Sheehy, “We’re in the same place, he’s going to be meeting with Ryan and hopefully we’ll be talking before July 1,” Poile said.

Update #4.5: Baroque asked me to let you know that the Great Lakes Loons will be holding the following bobblehead nights this summer:

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The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.